Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
Wenceslaus III of Bohemia (6 October 1289-4 August 1306) was King of Hungary from 1301 to 1305 (succeeding Andrew III of Hungary and preceding Otto III of Bavaria), King of Bohemia from 1305 to 1306 (succeeding Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and preceding Henry of Bohemia), and King of Poland from 1305 to 1306 (succeeding Wenceslaus II and preceding Wladyslaw I of Poland). Wenceslaus was a young king, and he fought against Charles of Anjou in Hungary and Wladyslaw the Elbow-High in Poland due to facing rival claims to their thrones. Wenceslaus was murdered at the age of 16 in 1306 while planning an invasion of Poland, ending the Premyslid dynasty. Biography Wenceslaus was born in Prague, Bohemia on 6 October 1289, the son of Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and Judith of Habsburg and a member of the Premyslid dynasty. He was orphaned by the age of eight, and he was betrothed to marry Elizabeth of Toess, the daughter of King Andrew III of Hungary, in 1298. In 1301, Andrew III died without male heirs, ending the House of Arpad. Charles of Anjou, the great-great-grandson of Bela IV of Hungary, claimed the throne for himself. However, because Charles was appointed by the church, many Hungarian nobles elected Wenceslaus as the new king, opposing the papist Charles. King of Hungary On 13 May 1301, the Diet of Hungary declared that Charles' coronation was invalid, and the young Wenceslaus was crowned King of Hungary on 27 August 1301. The Croatian lords backed Charles, however, leading to civil war. Ivan Koszegi, a supporter of Wenceslaus, captured Esztergom from Charles in August 1301, forcing Charles to flee south. However, Hungary's twelve provinces fragmented into oligarchies, and neither king had a support base. The Pope's legate in Hungary, Nicola Boccasini, started negotiations with the Hungarian prelates to convince nobles to join Charles' side, and Wenceslaus' bribes failed to convince several Hungarian nobles to remain loyal to him. In September 1302, Charles besieged Buda, but Koszegi relieved the city. In 1303, after Pope Boniface VIII declared Charles to be the rightful king, King Albert I of Germany demanded for Wenceslaus to withdraw his claim to the throne. In May 1304, Wenceslaus II of Bohemia invaded Hungary to assist his son, but Wenceslaus was later convinced to take the younger Wenceslaus back to Bohemia with him after he found his son's situation to be untenable. Wenceslaus took the Holy Crown of Hungary back to Prague while leaving, and he made Koszegi the new governor of Hungary. Charles of Anjou and Rudolf III of Austria invaded Moraiva in September 1304, but they failed to defeat Wenceslaus II's army. Later, Wenceslaus II's rival Wladyslaw the Elbow-High, another claimant to the throne of Poland, invaded Bohemia, conquering several cities. King of Bohemia and Poland When Wenceslaus II died on 21 June 1305, Wenceslaus inherited the throne of Bohemia and became the de jure king of Poland, although he had to worry about fighting Wladyslaw's forces. Wenceslaus decided to give the Hungarian throne to Otto III of Bavaria, handing the crown to him in Brno on 9 October 1305. In 1306, Wladyslaw conquered Krakow from Wenceslaus, and Wenceslaus responded by planning an invasion of Poland, leaving Henry of Carinthia as governor of his lands. However, Wenceslaus was assassinated in Olomouc on 4 August 1306 before he could lead an invasion, ending the Premyslid dynasty. Henry became the new king after Wenceslaus' murder. Category:1289 births Category:1306 deaths Category:Hungarian kings Category:Bohemian kings Category:Polish kings Category:Hungarians Category:Bohemians Category:Polish Category:Kings Category:Catholics Category:Czechs Category:Killed